Tullibardine used to be known mostly for its finishes (rum, port, sauternes, Banyuls, you name it). I tried one or two in the past, but somehow I didn’t bother to publish notes.
This should be different. It’s a 44 year-old 1965 distillate bottled in the Dutch Mo Òr Collection. One of the most expensive offerings in their range.
Tullibardine 44 yo 1965 (48,8%, Mo Òr Collection 2009, oloroso sherry butt #959, 197 btl.)
Nose: wide, ranging from dates over apple peel to polished oak and cigar boxes. All very subtle and beautifully layered. Other aromas include walnuts and almonds, raisins, mint, essential orange oils, beeswax, honey… It’s quite grapey and oaky but in a very elegant way. Aniseed and nutmeg. Oak is clearly a big part of this, but it’s quite superb.
Mouth: oily and smooth, comes in nicely with oranges, raisins, hints of redcurrant and whitecurrant. Some fruit tea. Hints of rosewater. Cinnamon. Goes on with herbal notes and oak. Ends with bags of cocoa and hints of coffee beans.
Finish: dry, still a nice chocolate / herbs combination alongside a soft bitterness of oak.
I think this is quite excellent, showing beautiful old notes with a soft, slightly subdued fruitiness. Add some waxy notes and you have a complex oldie. Around € 480 for a 50 cl bottle.
Score: 91/100